Movies such as "Selma" show us how far we have progressed as a people and how far we have to go. There are moments in this movie in which we seem far removed. The ignorance and prejudice is palpable in every confrontation. As a white viewer, shame washed over me. I said silent prayers wishing my ancestors weren't involved in the slave trade or the enforcement of Jim Crow. My prayers were answered knowing that even if they weren't, they were complacent with their silence. Dr. Martin Luther King was far from silent. Those that gathered around him were far from silent. After viewing this movie and seeing a recreation of the blood, sweat, tears and lives sacrificed on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement, I will be far from silent. When cinema is good, it emotionally moves you. When cinema is great, it moves you to action.
Thanks for entering my world,
-Nathan